Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 7, 2021

7,553 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Winter Livestock (Tuesday) report →

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $177.55/cwt +6.50 vs last sale · ≈ $1,116/hd at 628 lb · 595 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $157.94/cwt +3.95 vs last sale · ≈ $1,054/hd at 667 lb · 370 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $187.22/cwt +5.77 vs last sale · ≈ $1,047/hd at 559 lb · 336 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 7,553 3,375 8,492
Feeder cattle 7,134 2,966 8,402
Slaughter cattle 419 409 90

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared with last Tuesday: Feeder steers and heifer under 500 lbs weaned 50 days or longer with quality and condition 5.00 to 8.00 higher instances 10.00 higher on steers. Steers 500 to 700 lbs 3.00 to 5.00 higher over 700 lbs steady to 3.00 higher with instances 8.00 higher. Heifers 500 to 700 lbs steady to 2.00 higher, over 700 lbs 2.00 to 3.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls mostly steady. Trade and demand good.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
319 319 11 227.00 $227.00 $724 —
362–390 379 30 226.00–228.00 $227.67 $863 +11.67
411–446 429 71 221.00–227.00 $225.60 $968 +21.38
462–477 474 45 209.00–214.00 $209.97 $995 +11.71
503 fancy 503 13 200.00 $200.00 $1,006 —
511–538 529 138 189.00–197.00 $193.96 $1,026 +8.28
552–564 fancy 557 141 190.00–192.00 $191.14 $1,065 +3.14
554–584 561 195 179.00–186.00 $184.39 $1,034 +7.82
602 fancy 602 59 190.00 $190.00 $1,144 +6.50
609–643 629 457 173.50–183.00 $177.94 $1,119 +6.33
645 unweaned 645 79 166.00 $166.00 $1,071 +4.26
650–680 664 236 150.00–158.00 $154.52 $1,026 -0.76
650–685 thin fleshed 670 115 162.00–167.00 $165.62 $1,110 —
693 unweaned 693 19 154.00 $154.00 $1,067 +6.33
700 fancy 700 75 176.00 $176.00 $1,232 —
713–724 720 48 159.50–167.00 $161.57 $1,163 +5.08
706–729 unweaned 725 69 151.00–155.00 $152.36 $1,105 +9.80
758–781 unweaned 774 50 144.00–146.00 $144.59 $1,119 —
757–792 775 65 155.00–162.00 $158.26 $1,227 +4.18
801 801 50 155.85 $155.85 $1,248 —
852–897 858 171 152.50–156.00 $155.53 $1,334 +1.47
883 value added 883 120 159.00 $159.00 $1,404 —
908 value added 908 142 159.10 $159.10 $1,445 —
950–975 956 85 150.00–154.00 $152.94 $1,462 —
1017 1017 53 150.25 $150.25 $1,528 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
493 493 59 191.00 $191.00 $942 —
600–641 619 59 162.00–171.00 $166.02 $1,028 —
655–683 unweaned 670 59 141.00–149.50 $145.94 $978 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
396 396 17 215.00 $215.00 $851 —
528–538 530 60 180.00–182.00 $181.02 $959 +10.02
554–577 564 52 168.00–172.50 $169.06 $953 +7.27

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–335 327 25 180.00–181.00 $180.20 $589 -21.80
364–385 376 48 178.00–182.50 $179.42 $675 -3.08
400–403 402 16 173.00–175.00 $173.75 $698 -1.25
451–495 470 109 167.00–172.00 $168.28 $791 +6.80
457–478 fancy 471 93 175.00–176.99 $176.23 $830 +5.72
501–545 524 183 164.00–172.00 $168.96 $885 +9.91
530 fancy 530 26 176.00 $176.00 $933 +3.48
550–556 fancy 554 104 173.00–174.00 $173.62 $962 +9.62
552–591 584 219 160.00–170.00 $163.97 $958 —
600–636 unweaned 620 77 144.50–147.00 $145.82 $904 +3.32
608–648 629 171 153.00–159.50 $156.98 $987 —
657–673 666 79 145.50–150.00 $148.30 $988 -5.20
659–677 unweaned 669 34 143.00–143.50 $143.23 $958 +9.23
703–735 730 116 147.00–152.50 $151.65 $1,107 +5.11
754–776 765 195 145.00–151.50 $150.42 $1,151 +3.35
842 842 18 143.00 $143.00 $1,204 -2.00
864–874 value added 870 208 149.00–150.50 $149.94 $1,304 —
895 895 33 144.50 $144.50 $1,293 +7.68
994 994 5 133.00 $133.00 $1,322 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
414–436 429 64 165.50–169.00 $166.56 $715 —
533–542 537 41 154.00–156.00 $154.94 $832 —
576–589 582 92 145.00–150.00 $146.93 $855 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
474 474 37 141.00 $141.00 $668 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
495 495 28 164.00 $164.00 $812 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1102 1102 80-85% 15 52.00 $52.00 $573 —
1102–1803 1295 80-85% 119 50.00–59.00 $55.75 $722 —
1254–1393 1317 80-85% 21 60.00–62.00 $60.55 $797 -0.86
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1415–1660 1509 75-80% 28 60.00–68.50 $65.40 $987 —
1380–1995 1539 75-80% 21 52.00–61.00 $58.48 $900 —
1628–1735 1646 75-80% 6 63.00–69.50 $68.36 $1,125 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
715–945 830 85-90% 2 36.00–39.00 $37.71 $313 —
1060–1061 1061 85-90% 17 47.00–48.00 $47.94 $509 +1.47
1020–1145 1079 85-90% 5 42.00–48.00 $44.93 $485 -8.08
1108–1285 1190 85-90% 14 52.00–56.00 $53.03 $631 -0.88

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1755–1885 1820 2 79.00–81.00 $80.04 $1,457 —
1620–2420 1877 14 85.00–91.00 $88.61 $1,663 —
1995 1995 1 93.00 $93.00 $1,855 —

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Reading this report

What does "Medium and Large 1" mean?

USDA feeder grades describe frame size and muscle thickness, not quality of the individual animal. "Medium and Large" is the frame score; the number is muscle (1 = heaviest muscled). "Medium and Large 1–2" pens mix both muscle scores — common across the Southeast.

What is $/cwt?

Dollars per hundredweight — per 100 lb of animal. A 500-lb calf at $450/cwt brings 5 × $450 = $2,250. Lighter cattle usually bring more per cwt but less per head.

Why are some prices per head?

Bred cows, cow-calf pairs, and some replacement classes sell by the head, not by weight. We show those exactly as USDA reports them — a $/head figure is never converted into $/cwt on this site.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Livestock Market News — federal reporters at the sale. We publish each report in full and link the official USDA document at the top of the page.